Watching great parents in action gives me a little thrill. They do it effortlessly. In the heat of the moment, in public, in any circumstance at all, great parents KNOW, PROTECT and HONOR their children.
One of my favorite Great Parenting Moments happened when the father in question was waist-deep in the Pacific Ocean. Our friend Chris, a local Maui boy, was teaching our mainland sons how to surf. Meanwhile, his seven-year-old daughter Kiele paddled around the gentle waves, practicing on her own board. After half an hour on the water, Kiele had floated far enough away to panic us land-lubbers. Her daddy, however, kept calm.
KNOW
Chris knew exactly where his daughter was without training his eyes on her constantly. An island native himself raising three Maui girls, he knows Kiele’s strength as well as the conditions of the water. Chris also knew the currents at this particular beach; even if his daughter drifted away helplessly, she would eventually float around a lava outcropping into a shallow eddy on the other side.
PROTECT
Kiele is an experienced spear fisher who accompanies her daddy on increasingly challenging dives, but Chris doesn’t take her out in really rough water. He has taught her to respect the inherent dangers of the ocean and keep safety in mind; he has given her the skills and tools to save herself in crisis. Chris challenges his adventurous daughter within the limits of her age, size and ability. The ocean that day seemed wild and dangerous to us, but to Chris and Kiele, it was like a stroll through a neighborhood park.
HONOR
As we stood worried on the shore, as Kiele drifted ever further from our party, Chris calmly turned to his little girl and called, “Dig deep!” It was a champion moment of parenting. Within the boundaries of knowing and protecting her, he honored his daughter’s ability to figure it out for herself. “Dig deep” reminded Kiele to use her many resources to get out of a tough situation. And she did.
I suspect this girl will be able to do exactly the same in later years, when teenagers find themselves in different kinds of tough situations. Don’t we all long for our teenagers to “dig deep,” call upon their inner strength, and paddle away from all kinds of danger?
***In this case, names have NOT Been changed to protect the innocent. Good parenting comes with few daily rewards; Chris should hear the shout-out. Credit is due, too, to his lovely wife Aki, who is fierce in her own million ways. :-)
And here, for your entertainment: my favorite movie clip about surfing, and a photo of the actual girl who knows how to dig deep (and, as she demonstrates here, how to spear fish).